Abstract: The collection contains the records of the nonprofit educational reform organization, LEARN (Los Angeles Educational Alliance
for Restructuring Now), a major reform movement in one of the nation's largest school systems, the Los Angeles Unified School
District. The holdings in this collection span the years from 1974 to 1999 and document the internal and external history
of the organization.

Physical location: Collection stored offsite. Research use requires both an advance notice of intent to use the collection and an appointment.
To schedule an appointment, please contact the Department of Archives and Special Collection, Charles Von der Ahe Library,
Loyola Marymount University: 310-338-2780, 310-338-7478, 310-342-3968.

Languages: Languages represented in the collection:Englishspanish

Access

The LEARN Collection is part of the Research Collection of the Center for the Study of Los Angeles, a program of the Thomas
and Dorothy Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles, Loyola Marymount University. The Research Collection is administered
by the Department of Archives and Special Collections, Loyola Marymount University. The LEARN Collection is open to research
under the terms of use of the Department of Archives and Special Collections, Loyola Marymount University.

Publication Rights

Materials in the Department of Archives and Special Collections may be subject to copyright. Unless explicitly stated otherwise,
Loyola Marymount University does not claim ownership of the copyright of any materials in its collections. The user or publisher
must secure permission to publish from the copyright owner. Loyola Marymount University does not assume any responsibility
for infringement of copyright or of publication rights held by the original author or artists or his/her heirs, assigns, or
executors.

The Los Angeles Educational Alliance for Restructuring Now (LEARN) was launched in 1990 by business leaders such as Robert
Wycoff (President and CEO of ARCO), Richard Riordan (lawyer, businessman, and soon to be elected as mayor of Los Angeles),
and Roy Anderson (Chairman Emeritus, Lockheed Corp.). A response to demands for changes in the severely criticized Los Angeles
Unified School District (LAUSD), this private, non-profit educational reform organization has sought to improve the quality
of education within the LAUSD by directly affecting how the nation's second largest school system is governed and operated.

In 1991, the organizational and administrative structure of LEARN was formed: Mike Roos (the former California Assemblyman)
became president and the Working Group (the board of directors) was established. LEARN also was a community movement as more
than 600 community organizations representing diverse constituencies provided input into the work of LEARN. In 1992, Task
Forces were convened to focus on seven specific parts of LEARN's agenda for reform: Accountability and Assessment, Facilities,
Parental Involvement, Professional Development, School Governance, School to Work Transition, and Social Service. The results
of the Task Forces were shaped by the Integrative Committee into a cohesive plan for the reform of the LAUSD entitled, For
All Our Children. The introduction of the plan to the public was successful: many civic and community groups endorsed it,
as well as more than 90,000 citizens, in a petition. The final group to endorse the plan was the Los Angeles Unified School
District's Board of Education, which unanimously adopted the plan on March 15, 1993.

As a nonprofit organization, LEARN received funding from private sources, and LEARN was also able to move forward because
of its success in obtaining funding from these sources. In 1993, the Weingart Foundation, Ahmanson Foundation, Stuart Foundation,
and U.S. Department of Education awarded grants to LEARN totaling 1.37 million dollars, toward the implementation of the LEARN
plan and training expenses. In 1996, The Los Angeles Annenberg Metropolitan Project (LAAMP) awarded 1.1 million dollars to
LAUSD school families implementing LEARN reform, and the Weingart Foundation awarded LAAMP and LEARN 8.2 million dollarsto
improve teacher preparation, training and professional development. In 1997, LEARN was asked to coordinate the Anne and Kirk
Douglas Playground Grant Awards exclusively for LEARN schools. LEARN had previously administered the awarding of 71 school
grants of up to 25,000 dollars.

The first school year of implementation (called Phase I), 1994-1995, thirty-nine schools participated. Phase II, involved
67 more schools; Phase III, 117 schools; Phase IV, 121 schools; Phase V, 29 schools; and Phase VI, 48 schools. By 1998-1999,
forty-three percent of the Los Angeles Unified School District's schools had joined LEARN. To develop and implement a School
Site Action Plan, each school's principal and lead teacher received training through UCLA's Advanced Management Program. In
addition, the Learning Community Program trained the other critical participants in schools: parents, teachers, principal
and staff.

In 1998, LAUSD Superintendent Reuben Zacarias mandated that all schools choose to implement a reform plan, marking the District's
first full commitment to districtwide reform. In 1999, with the Committee on Effective School Governance (CESG), LEARN sponsored
an effort to educate voters on the Spring School Board elections. On February 7, 2000, LAAMP and LEARN merged to form the
LAAMP/LEARN Regional School Reform Alliance or
L2. The goal of the merger was to bring together resources and funding to accomplish the goal of improving public schools throughout
the Los Angeles region. One of the first tasks planned was to help the district reform fiscal and budget systems. In October
2000, Ms. Sonia C. Henderson became president of the newly-created organization.

1990

Los Angeles Educational Alliance for Restructuring Now established.

1991

Mike Roos named president and board of directors formed.

1992

Seven Task Forces formed to implement LEARN's agenda for reform: Accountability and Assessment, Facilities, Parental Involvement,
Professional Development, School Governance, School to Work Transition, and Social Service.

1992

LEARN's Integrative Committee makes public plan for the reform of the LAUSD entitled
For All Our Children.

1993

The Los Angeles Unified School District's Board of Education, which unanimously adopted the plan

LAAMP and LEARN merged to form the LAAMP/LEARN Regional School Reform Alliance or
L2. Ms. Sonia C. Henderson named president of the newly-created organization.

Scope and Content of Collection

The LEARN collection was donated to Loyola Marymount University in 1999. The collection consists of textual and non-textual
materials. The former includes subject files, correspondence, minutes and agendas of committee meetings, reports and studies,
brochures, and publications on educational reforms. The non-textual materials are made up of videocassettes, audiocassettes,
photographs, and film. The dates of the holdings range from 1974 to 1999, with 1991-1999 constituting the bulk dates. Materials
dating before 1990 did not originate with LEARN, but were used by LEARN in its program of school reform.

Arrangement

The collection is organized in nine series: Financial Records, Implementation, Media, Michael Y. Roos, Outside Organizations,
Promotion and Publications, Subject Files, Task Forces and Committees, and Working Groups. These nine series are based on
the filing structure of LEARN and form Collection Number CSLA-14 in the Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles Research
Collection. The original order has been preserved when processing the collection.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.